Chapter 537: Outburst

ARGH!!

A piercing scream echoed from the courtyard of the private residence. The covert squad, ambushed by the Yin Tower Believers, had suffered devastating losses in just over a dozen breaths.

Two squad members were killed on the spot. Their bodies began to rot as flesh and fat squirmed out of their wounds. Blood vessels sprouted and spread like vines, snaking toward two other heavily injured members on the ground, as if trying to corrupt them completely.

Under the terrifying influence of that heretical, gibberish-like Imperial Decree, the two grievously wounded squad members felt the world spin. Their surroundings twisted into a bizarre, horrifying scene. All they could do was watch in terror as the vascular vines coiled around them.

The only one left with any fight in him was the strongest of the group, their middle-aged captain. He was at the peak of the Refining the Internal Organs realm. As squad leader, he also received the strongest blessing from the city’s City God, granting him the most Power of Incense. This protection nullified most of the enemy’s corrupting influence, allowing him to hold off their assault.

But he couldn’t keep it up for long.

Not only did his opponents possess that terrifying corrupting power, but one of them was stronger than him.

The Sensing realm. Those at this level could clearly perceive the existence of Primordial Qi, possessed extreme control over the Primordial Qi in their own bodies, and could even mobilize the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi to a certain extent. Because of this, any Technique activated by a Sensing realm expert was a cut above what someone at the peak of the Refining the Internal Organs realm could produce.

The only reason he was still standing was because he had activated a Forbidden Technique that harmed himself as much as his enemies. It squeezed his Physical Ability for a short-term boost in Primordial Qi intensity, but its duration was extremely limited. Once the Technique ended, the backlash would be terrifying.

He had originally planned to use the Forbidden Technique to weather the initial assault and wait for reinforcements. After all, this area was filled with overt and covert sentries posted by the imperial court; help should have arrived immediately.

But now, the Forbidden Technique was about to run out, and still no reinforcements had come. This meant that other nearby areas were also in trouble.

‘How is this possible?! Was our intelligence leaked on a massive scale?!’

Despair welled up in his heart. The layer of bright yellow light around him was rapidly dimming under the pressure of the crimson, bloody glow. Once that yellow light vanished and the enemy’s corruption seeped in, he would die on the spot, unable to resist, even before the Forbidden Technique’s duration was up.

However, at that very moment—

WHOOSH!!

He suddenly saw the four figures amidst the courtyard’s crimson light freeze their attacks and whip their heads around to look in another direction, outside the courtyard.

His heart skipped a beat. He instinctively glanced in the same direction and saw two figures in black Night Clothes rapidly approaching.

‘Reinforcements? No, they’re not from the Celestial Net Department or a Government Office, nor are they from any of the major Sealed Sects. Are they unaffiliated Martial Artists drawn by the commotion?’

‘There are too few experts among unaffiliated Martial Artists, and even fewer who have reached the Sensing realm. They’re no match for this group.’

The captain’s heart sank. The flicker of hope he’d just felt seemed to be extinguished. In his current state, it was all he could do to resist the corruption; he couldn’t even spare the effort to shout a warning.

Yet, at that very moment, the terrifying roar of surging Qi and Blood, like a tidal wave, rushed into his ears, momentarily suppressing the overlapping, dream-like whispers.

At the same time, he saw a roiling, turbulent light of Primordial Qi erupt from the taller of the two figures. Five different colors of Primordial Qi light melded together, evolving into a single, profound, dark light—the color of the immeasurable surface of the deep sea.

His Primordial Qi was like a tide, and he was walking upon its surging waves.

‘This kind of power…’

The captain was stunned, but what happened next made his pupils contract violently.

He clearly saw three Talismanic Forms flash into existence on the man’s body at the same time, colored pale gold, blue-black, and crimson.

In an instant, three talismans manifested on his body!

Furthermore, the captain immediately recognized that these were no ordinary talismans. Judging by their complexity, they were all Talismanic Forms of at least the Three Dips level!

Even for a Martial Artist like him at the peak of the Refining the Internal Organs realm, manifesting a Three-dipped Talisman was an extremely difficult feat. It required prior preparation or paying a certain price. If he tried to manifest one in the heat of battle, there was a significant chance of failure.

After all, the more complex a talisman, the more intricate and difficult the coordination of factors like physical Force Release, Primordial Qi control, and Intent. A single misstep, and the talisman would fail to form.

The Forbidden Technique he was currently using to survive his opponents’ attacks was, in fact, a Three-dipped Talisman.

Typically, only Martial Artists at the Sensing realm or higher, who possessed a deeper perception of Primordial Qi, could use Three-dipped Talismans with ease.

‘But now, this person has manifested three Three-dipped Talismans simultaneously in an instant. What does that even mean?!’

That was something even those in the Sensing realm would find difficult to do!

‘Moreover, I think I can see a pattern. The three Three-dipped Talismans seem to be connected, not independent of each other. Their powers are stacking.’

That made it even more terrifying!

The Formless Array Map was not merely a method for storing and engraving Talismanic Techniques. Its true terror lay in the instantaneous release of its stored Techniques, and the resulting stacking effect.